It’s not about Ukraine. It’s about Putin.

Dylan Matthews talks with Mark Galeotti (@MarkGaleotti), director of Mayak Intelligence, about what’s going on in Ukraine. They discuss in depth the historical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Russia’s NATO problem, and the calculations and motivations behind President Vladimir Putin’s moves. References: Today, Explained’s episode about Ukraine's pipeline problem Vox’s Jen Kirby wrote an explainer about Russia-Ukraine tensions Adam Tooze on Russia as a petro-state An excellent 2019 episode from NPR’s Throughline about the rise of Putin The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War, by Mark Galeotti Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices